Chelsea Clinton got married today.
I’ve been following this story for a bit. My interest has been less the fact of the wedding itself (although I wish her all happiness with her nice Jewish boy :-)), but the reactions to it. Mind you, the entire expense of this wedding (modulo the security costs the government normally provides to the Secretary of State and an Ex-President) has been borne personally by the Clinton family. Still, you get the people who want to use the commenting mechanism to push some personal agenda.
The following response is typical to what I’ve seen (and what I received personally in a discussion over on astroprisoner’s journal):
VERY STRANGE INDEED THAT “GUMPY” CLINTON WOULD MARRY IN A RIGHT-WING REPUBLICAN STRONGHOLD…IT SAYS A LOT ABOUT THE SELF-OBSESSION OF THE “SOCIALLY CONSCIOUS” CLINTON’S THAT THEY WOULD AGREE TO WASTE OVER TWO MILLION DOLLARS TO MARRY OFF THEIR AGEING DAUGHTER, EVEN AS THE WORLD DROWNS IN MALNUTRITION AND POVERTY…THIS KIND OF STUFF JUST DOESN’T CUT IT THESE DAYS EXCEPT FOR THE RETARDED AND REACTIONARY ELITES THAT, UNFORTUNATELY, STILL CALL THE SHOTS HERE…
Basically, the notion seems to be that if you have compassion for the poor and downtrodden elements of society, you must yourself be poor and downtrodden. It is wrong for Democrats to be wealthy, and they (as opposed to all the other rich people out there) should altruistically just give all their money to the poor. Never mind the fact that these folks give generously to charities—both with time and money&mdash or the fact that (according to reports) this wedding was decidedly low-key and not over the top. Never mind the fact that this money was spent at local merchants and paid the wages of numerous individuals, from security staff to waiters to parking lot attendants. Never mind the fact that it provided significant sales and lodging taxes in the state of New York that were paid by the Clintons, not the guests.
One gets the feeling that the hatred for particular political families is so strong we can’t wish them a happy day for a family member. Although I didn’t politically agree with President Bush, I can wish him happiness at his children’s wedding. I’d wish the same for President Clinton, and any of the children of a President. But we have people who can’t see beyond the political attacks to see our leaders as being human just like them, fathers and mothers that care about their children. What does it say about our society when we dehumanize our leaders, and see them only in stereotypes and charactures?
Then there are the responses that take an event and turn it into a platform for their own agenda. Again, quoting from the LA Times comments:
This is the reason why same sex couples are fighting for their rights to marry…… Marriage is a time of joy when you marry someone that you love and want to be with; the REST OF YOUR LIFE. Calling up family and telling them you are getting a Civil Union, Civil Partnership, or Domestic Partnership isn’t as exciting same as Marriage. Do people against same sex marriage think by banning our rights you are going to make us “straight”? That just means we will continue to fight even harder to achieve OUR RIGHT to marry……
Now, I agree that the state should not be in the business of saying what form of human couple (modulo age restrictions) should be able to get married—I’m all for having domestic partnerships for all, and letting churches handle the religious and moral aspects for those that choose to subscribe to them. But is a comment on Chelsea’s wedding the place to take this position? Shouldn’t we be wishing her all the best and leaving it at that?
Then there are the comments that serve to insult:
Looks like Carol Burnette finally married Tim Conway. Yay!
LADY GAGA LOOKS LIKE A REAL QUEEN COMPARED TO CHELSEA CLINTON. KEEP IN MIND, LADY GAGA KNOWS SHE IS UGLY AND THAT IS WHY SHE WEARS ALL THAT WEIRD GEAR INCLUDING MAKE UP. ON THE OTHER HAND, CHELSEA HAS MORE SURGICAL REPAIRS THAN BILL CLINTON CIGARS. CHELSEA HAS NO TALENT UNLESS SHE ENJOY CUBAN CIGARS!!! LOL
There is a saying, “Every bride is beautiful on her wedding day”. Why is there the need to insult and belittle.
This is just an example. The Internet has brought us many wonderful things. However, with what I see with the comments regularly posted in newspapers, it has also brought out some of the worst in this country. The idiotic drivel that used to be filtered out by the editors before printing far too easily makes the commentary page, and it truly makes me sad to read it.
